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Apply HN: Tiz.com

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Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#21

Post by tboxer »

6thSigma wrote: post #16

Do distributors currently have software that you can tie into to get up-to-date stock and prices? Are there any legal hurdles with scaling this across state lines?

A majority of small to medium distributors use quickbooks, so we could tap into that API. The larger ones have custom erp systems that could be tapped into, but it gets tricky. At the lowest touch point, we could send orders to sales reps to punch.

Yea, there are things to take into account with certain states related to pricing, etc.

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#22

Post by tboxer »

numlocked wrote: post #18

I'm involved in placing POs for CPG products (I work for a retailer). Why would the process be fundamentally different for liquor wholesales & retailers? I get that it's currently an inefficient system, but if you could snap your fingers and put the tech in place, what about it is differentiated enough from existing purchase order systems to justify focusing specifically on the liquor biz? Genuinely curious!

Great question. The main problem isn't necessarily placing orders, its also being able to manage your ordering process. If you are doing a new cocktail menu and you need a lemoncello that is under 20 dollars to fit into your cocktail, you would have to reach out to every rep and ask them for product info and pricing. Our system lets you see everything available to you from all distributors. You can then one click order across as many distributors as you want.

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#23

Post by tboxer »

Gargoyle wrote: post #17
tboxer wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So in order to get distributors onboard, we have been signing up bar and restaurant groups to use our service to send sales reps orders. Our goal is to go back to distributors and ask for integrations once we have the orders to back it up.

Have you talked directly to distributors (or even their salespeople) to ask why they haven't done this? What are their concerns?

Some distributors have built out systems to allow online ordering and it works well for them and they view it as a competitive advantage. A few have also tried over the years but found they couldn't get customers to actually use it.

It helps that we have seen a major shift from food distributors to online platforms.

A concern of some distributors is losing the touch point with the sales rep. They want a rep to be talking to the buyers at any chance they get or they think people will pass up on their products.

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#24

Post by tboxer »

davemel37 wrote: post #15

Would this solution do much of the same thing you are looking to create https://www.handshake.com/ ?

The requirements of the alcohol industry are very specific and vary state to state, so we think it requires specialized software to take that into account.

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#25

Post by dccoolgai »

Hey - from DC and my buddy used to work for the Beer Wholesalers Association as a lobbyist and I have a couple other buddies who lobbied for Wine & Spirits. I have a piece of advice that dovetails into a question. The advice is to go meet with those folk at those associations if you haven't already. The question is that I know from my buddies' experience at those places, there is a lot of political resistance in those industries to "changing things" - how do you intend to navigate around that political/attitude problem?

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#27

Post by manav »

It's been some time since I've interfaced with distributors, but I thought one of the largest companies, Southern Wine & Spirits, invested a lot into infrastructure in their warehouses and online fulfillment. Is this something thats just targeted to smaller distributors?

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#28

Post by tboxer »

dccoolgai wrote: post #25

Hey - from DC and my buddy used to work for the Beer Wholesalers Association as a lobbyist and I have a couple other buddies who lobbied for Wine & Spirits. I have a piece of advice that dovetails into a question. The advice is to go meet with those folk at those associations if you haven't already. The question is that I know from my buddies' experience at those places, there is a lot of political resistance in thos…

Thanks for the thoughts and we will check them out.

We aren't looking to change the way alcohol is distributed, just offer a tool to take orders. There are a bunch of distributors that have already built their own ecommerce ordering solutions and have found them to work well.

Re: Apply HN: Tiz.com

#29

Post by tboxer »

manav wrote: post #27

It's been some time since I've interfaced with distributors, but I thought one of the largest companies, Southern Wine & Spirits, invested a lot into infrastructure in their warehouses and online fulfillment. Is this something thats just targeted to smaller distributors?

We are targeting ourselves to anyone that doesn't have their own system. Small and medium distributors lend themselves well to this because they usually have small sales forces and are limited in the number of accounts they can service.
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